(Press-News.org) As the team reports in the Investigative Radiology journal, this method shows promise in detecting diseases such as pulmonary emphysema at an earlier stage, than it is currently available. Conventional radiographic procedures generate images based on the absorption of X-rays as they pass through the tissue. The newly developed technique of X-ray dark-field radiography uses new technology to monitor wave changes during tissue transmission to create higher resolution images.
Detailed images
With the aid of this new technique, the team from the HMGU, KUM and TUM around Dr. Ali Önder Yildirim and Prof. Oliver Eickelberg of the Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC), which is one of the centers of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), achieved detailed images of soft tissue.
The study was conducted in cooperation with the Cluster of Excellence Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics (MAP). The scientists used a small-animal scanner developed by Prof. Franz Pfeifer at the TUM to test X-ray dark-field radiography on a living organism. For their investigations, they evaluated and compared images of the lung. "With X-ray dark-field radiography, structural changes in the lung tissue are visible at an early stage", Dr. Yildirim from the CPC/HMGU says.
Early detection of lung disease
"Early detection of changes in the lung tissue will improve the diagnosis of lung diseases", explains Dr. Felix Meinel from the Institute of Clinical Radiology at the KUM. The clinical application, in particular the diagnosis of lung diseases such as pulmonary emphysema or pulmonary fibrosis, will now be tested in further studies.
Lung diseases are among the leading causes of death worldwide. Genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors all play a role in their development. The work of the Helmholtz Zentrum München, the German Research Center for Environmental Health, focuses on the major common diseases with the aim of developing new approaches to their diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
INFORMATION:
Further information
Original publication:
Meinel, F. et al. (2014): Improved Diagnosis of Pulmonary Emphysema using in vivo Dark-Field Radiography, Investigative Radiology. doi: 10.1097/RLI.0000000000000067
Link to publication: http://journals.lww.com/investigativeradiology/Abstract/publishahead/Improved_Diagnosis_of_Pulmonary_Emphysema_Using_In.99411.aspx
Further references:
Bech, M. et al. (2013): In-vivo dark-field and phase-contrast x-ray imaging, Nature Scientific Reports, doi: 10.1038/srep03209
As German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München pursues the goal of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes mellitus and lung diseases. To achieve this, it investigates the interaction of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Helmholtz Zentrum München has about 2,200 staff members and is headquartered in Neuherberg in the north of Munich. Helmholtz Zentrum München is a member of the Helmholtz Association, a community of 18 scientific-technical and medical-biological research centers with a total of about 34,000 staff members.
The Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC) is a joint research project of the Helmholtz Zentrum München, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Clinic Complex and the Asklepios Fachkliniken München-Gauting. The CPC's objective is to conduct research on chronic lung diseases in order to develop new diagnosis and therapy strategies. The CPC maintains a focus on experimental pneumology with the investigation of cellular, molecular and immunological mechanisms involved in lung diseases. The CPC is a site of the Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL).
The German Center for Lung Research (DZL) pools German expertise in the field of pulmonology research and clinical pulmonology. The association's head office is in Giessen. The aim of the DZL is to find answers to open questions in research into lung diseases by adopting an innovative, integrated approach and thus to make a sizeable contribution to improving the prevention, diagnosis and individualized treatment of lung disease and to ensure optimum patient care.
Scientific conact at the Helmholtz Zentrum München
Dr. Ali Önder Yildirim, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Comprehensive Pneumoloy Center, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg -Phone: 089-3187-4037 - Email: oender.yildirim@helmholtz-muenchen.de
Prof. Dr. Oliver Eickelberg, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Comprehensive Pneumoloy Center, Max-Lebsche-Platz 31, 81377 München -Phone: 089-3187-4666 - Email: oliver.eickelberg@helmholtz-muenchen.de
Scientific conact at the Technische Universität München
Prof. Dr. Franz Pfeiffer, Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Department Physik, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching – Phone: 089-289-12551
Scientific conact at the Klinikum der Universität München
Dr. Felix G. Meinel, Institut für Klinische Radiologie, Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität-München, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany, Phone: 089-7095-3620
X-ray dark-field radiography provides detailed imaging of lung diseases
2014-05-27
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Two new possible drug targets for triple negative breast cancer
2014-05-27
HOUSTON -- ( May 27, 2014 ) -- The suppression of two genes reduce breast cancer tumor formation and metastasis by interfering with blood vessel formation and recruitment, report scientists from Houston Methodist and five other institutions in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (now online). The findings may help medical researchers identify effective drug targets for triple negative breast cancer, or TNBC.
The genes, MLF2 (myeloid leukemia factor 2) and RPL39 (a ribosomal protein), were found to most profoundly impact the production of nitric oxide synthase, ...
Large numbers of shadow economy entrepreneurs in developing countries, according to new report
2014-05-27
There are large numbers of entrepreneurs in developing countries who aren't registering their businesses with official authorities, hampering economic growth, according to new research.
Shadow entrepreneurs are individuals who manage a business that sells legitimate goods and services but they do not register it. This means that they do not pay tax, operating in a shadow economy where business activities are performed outside the reach of government authorities. The shadow economy results in loss of tax revenue, unfair competition to registered businesses and also poor ...
Mycotoxin protects against nematodes
2014-05-27
This news release is available in German. Most terrestrial plants enter into biocoenosis with funghi. Both sides benefit: the fungus, which surrounds the small roots of the host plant with a thick felt, supplies the plant with trace elements and water. The plant, in turn, supplies the fungus with sugars and other metabolites which it is unable to produce itself.
Toxic protein kills intestinal cells
ETH researchers from the research group of microbiology professor Markus Aebi have discovered a protein in the cells of one such ectomycorrhizal fungus which offers an ...
AGU: Experts publish new view of zone where Malaysia Airlines flight 370 might lie
2014-05-27
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new illustration of the seafloor, created by two of the world's leading ocean floor mapping experts that details underwater terrain where the missing Malaysia Airlines flight might be located, could shed additional light on what type of underwater vehicles might be used to find the missing airplane and where any debris from the crash might lie.
The seafloor topography map illustrates jagged plateaus, ridges and other underwater features of a large area underneath the Indian Ocean where search efforts have focused since contact with Malaysia Airlines ...
Rules to cut carbon emissions also reduce air pollution harmful to people, environment
2014-05-27
(Syracuse, NY – May 27, 2014) Setting strong standards for climate-changing carbon emissions from power plants would provide an added bonus – reductions in other air pollutants that can make people sick; damage forests, crops, and lakes; and harm fish and wildlife. This, according to a first-of-its-kind study released today by scientists at Syracuse University and Harvard who mapped the potential environmental and human health benefits of power plant carbon standards.
The authors of the new study, Co-benefits of Carbon Standards: Air Pollution Changes under Different ...
Skin grafts from genetically modified pigs may offer alternative for burn treatment
2014-05-27
A specially-bred strain of miniature swine lacking the molecule responsible for the rapid rejection of pig-to-primate organ transplants may provide a new source of skin grafts to treat seriously burned patients. A team of investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) report that skin grafts from pigs lacking the Gal sugar molecule were as effective in covering burn-like injuries on the backs of baboons as skin taken from other baboons, a finding that could double the length of time burns can be protected while healing. The report in the journal Transplantation ...
EuroPCR 2014 session defines future horizons for renal denervation
2014-05-27
23 May 2014, Paris, France: During EuroPCR 2014, Felix Mahfoud, University Hospital in Homburg, Germany, and Konstantinos Tsioufis, University of Athens, Greece, reflected on the potential future role of modulation of the sympathetic nervous system in patients with difficult-to-control hypertension.
In the context of the SYMPLICITY-HTN-3 clinical trial results, questions were raised about the extent of the procedure's efficacy although the randomised, controlled trial confirmed the safety of renal denervation.
"In terms of efficacy, some studies have shown that renal ...
New biodiversity study throws out controversial scientific theory
2014-05-27
Researchers have today released ground-breaking findings that dismiss the 'Neutral Theory of Biodiversity'. The theory has dominated biodiversity research for the past decade, and been advocated as a tool for conservation and management efforts.
Professor Sean Connolly from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) at James Cook University (JCU) is the lead author of the international study, which he says overturns the long-used theory by employing a novel mathematical method. It is the largest study of its kind, covering a broad range of marine ...
Does apolipoprotein E mimetic peptide reduce neuronal apoptosis induced by DBI?
2014-05-27
Because the majority of patients with diffuse brain injury are not suitable candidates for surgery, neuroprotective agents are of great importance. Apolipoprotein E exerts a neuroprotective effect against brain injury, but synthetic apolipoprotein E cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, thus limiting its application.It has been reported that apolipoprotein E (138) mimetic peptide can cross the blood-brain barrier in both normal and injured brain. However, its impact on neurological function following diffuse brain injury is still unclear. Prof. Jianmin Li and team from ...
A novel disease-preventing antioxidant pathway
2014-05-27
Interested in antioxidants? They protect us against aging and cancer. It's one of the reasons we like our green tea and even our broccoli. But there is a new kid on the antioxidant block - uric acid. But wait, you're thinking, doesn't uric acid cause gout? A team in Singapore has recently showed that uric acid is a major intracellular antioxidant, possibly even more important than the antioxidants we try to eat. They also discovered how uric acid helps to prevent aging and disease and how it helps in the treatment of cancer.
Traditionally, uric acid has a bad reputation ...